ACOG Statement on Abortion Bans

April 25, 2016

Washington, DC – Mark S. DeFrancesco, MD, MBA, President of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), today released the following statement:

"ACOG has long recognized that abortion is an essential component of health care for millions of women, and has opposed legislative interference into health decision-making. Many years ago, the United States Supreme Court held that the state has no right to prohibit these decisions before viability, as they are between a patient and her physician.

"Legislation that would revoke a physician’s medical license for performing abortion – a legal procedure that is an important part of health care for women – is gross interference in the delivery of care. A restriction this severe would clearly put women at risk; rather than safe, legal procedures, women in need of abortion would be forced to seek dangerous, even life-threatening means of ending their pregnancies.

"Legislation like this obstructs the safe provision of high quality medical care for women. Health care decisions should be made jointly by patients and their trusted health care providers – not by politicians who lack medical training and who clearly do not have women’s best interests in mind.

"Doctors are committed to their patients, and do their best to keep them safe and healthy. They should not have to fear prosecution or political reprisals for simply giving women the care that they need."

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College), a 501(c)(3) organization, is the nation’s leading group of physicians providing health care for women. As a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization of more than 57,000 members, The College strongly advocates for quality health care for women, maintains the highest standards of clinical practice and continuing education of its members, promotes patient education, and increases awareness among its members and the public of the changing issues facing women’s health care. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a 501(c)(6) organization, is its companion organization. www.acog.org